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Viper
The viper is a new strain of zerg fliers that were incorporated in StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. Overview The viper combines several vicious biological weapons to weaken enemy forces and give an edge to the Swarm. They are a specialized offensive-support strain,2015-01-16, Viper Science. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2014-01-20 being perfectly evolved for battlefield manipulation, a role previously held by the defiler,Unit Guide: Viper, Blizzard Entertainment. Accessed on 2014-05-12 which the viper contains genetic material from.2014-12-01, BlizzCon 2014 LotV Lore Community Corner Discussion with James Waugh. YouTube, accessed on 2015-04-03 Physiology Vipers lack any form of direct attack, but they are extremely dangerous in their role as a support strain.Barba, Rick. StarCraft Field Manual (hardcover). Insight Editions, November 17, 2015. The viper's tail is largely unchanged from the original defiler template. However, it has been evolved to allow the viper to maintain its balance and direction while flying, as well as steering. What truly stands out, however, are the ingrown, crystalline spikes on the tip's surface. These "crystals" emit a powerful pulse that the viper uses to locate its targets with pinpoint accuracy. Its limbs, while formidable in appearance, are crippled in terms of offensive capability, as the Swarm relegated them to the role of simplistic vice-grips. The protruding spikes are porous bone structures, able to pierce flesh and immobilize prey without inflicting lethal damage, and are directly linked to the creature's lymphatic system. When on the prowl, the spikes exude a pheromone that makes the viper seem innocuous and non-threatening to its hapless victims. Vipers store a thick microbial soup within their abdomens, and can spray the viscous mixture into the air whenever ranged foes approach, essentially nullifying the effectiveness of their armaments until they can move out of the cloying mist. This mixture is effective against both projectile and energy-based weaponry, and can reduce the zerg's foes to fighting in close quarters. All vipers possess a prehensile proboscis–an elongated organ that serves as the viper's digestive system, and one that runs the entire length of the creature's body. Just as a frog uses its tongue to catch prey, the viper regurgitates its flexible intestines with great force in order to grab and pull a target towards its location. Enemies hoping to escape to high ground are quickly snatched from their dominant position by the proboscis, allowing the zerg to counter just about any tactical terrain advantage. This muscle is powerful enough to even draw a battlecruiser towards the viper.2015-01-16, The Crème de la Zerg. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2014-01-19 When fatigued, the viper can siphon bioelectrical energy and nutrients from friendly zerg buildings, allowing it to quickly return to the fray. This is achieved by separating the ionic chains present in the hardened tissues of Zerg nest structures to produce a nourishing fluid. Said fluid acts as a catalyst for the plethora of microorganisms present in its bloodstream, which generate bioelectrical energy to replenish the viper's stores. As one of the original zerg broods, vipers of the Leviathan Brood exhibit more defiler tendencies than that rest of the swarm. While this has caused many abnormalities to surface, its potent toxins appear to be worth it. Viper enslaved by the Cerberus Program were given a hammerhead cranial implant that enhanced the accuracy of their proboscis.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. Collections Tab: Skins. July 19, 2017 History viper]] Vipers were originally a type of primal zerg.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, The Crucible (in English). 2013-03-12. Their uniquely vicious defenses drew the attention of Abathur, who brought their essence into the Zerg Swarm. With the need for a support strain apparent, the defiler template was revisited, and perfected with genetic material from an unknown species, preserving its core functions, but excising the defiler's lethality, which had been as deadly to zerg as it had been to the Swarm's enemies. Abathur incorporated the viper's gene sequences into the Swarm himself. Later, Sarah Kerrigan was able to evolve her own vipers from the mutalisk strain.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Heart of the Swarm, Mutalisk Evolution (in English). 2013-03-12. During the End War, a number of vipers were incorporated into Amon's zerg brood.Blizzard Entertainment. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void. (Activision Blizzard). PC. Mission: Legacy of the Void, Purification (in English). 2015-11-10. Game Unit |game=SC2 |image=Viper SC2 Head1.jpg |imgsize=200px |imgdesc= |image2=Viper SC2-HotS DevRend1.jpg |imgsize2=200px |imgdesc2= |race=Zerg |faction=Primal zerg *Yagdra's Pack Zerg Swarm Amon Brood |campname=''Heart of the Swarm'' Legacy of the Void Co-op Missions |baseunit= |role=Terrain Control Specialist |useguns= |usearmor= |energy=200 |engyregen=0.5625 (+0.028125 per biomass. Up to a maximum 3.375) (Co-op) |timedlife= |size= |type=*Biological *Psionic |armortype=*Armored |transcapacity= |transsize= |sight= |detect= |broodling= |costmin=100 |energycost= |costgas=200 |supply=3 |campcost= |time=29 |produced= |parent= |evolvesfrom=Larva Mutalisk (Heart of the Swarm campaign) |req=Infestation pit and Hive (Versus and Co-op) Greater spire (Heart of the Swarm campaign) |hotkey=E |speed=4.13 3 (Co-op) |accel=3 |lataccel= |decel= |creepbonus= |creepmultiplier= |collision= |shield= |shieldregen= |hp=150 150 (+4.5 per biomass. Up to a maximum 600) (Co-op) |hpregen= |armor=1 |gun1name=Acid Spit (Heart of the Swarm campaign) |gun1strength=10 (+5 vs armored) |gun1attacks= |gun1ground= |gun1air=x |gun1cool=1.5 |gun1range=6 |gun1upgrd=+2 |gun2name=Acid Spit (Co-op Missions) |gun2strength=10 |gun2attacks= |gun2ground= |gun2air=x |gun2cool=1.5 (-0.0075 per biomass. Down to a maximum 0.75) |gun2range=6 |gun2upgrd=+2 |addons= |evolvesto= |produce= |allows= |research= |ability= |priority= |killscore= |makescore= |lostscore= |notes= |structure= |hero= |campaign= |npc= |cancel= |nocat= |concatbott= |concattop= }} Versus Vipers are classified as "battlefield manipulation units." They are hive-level caster units with no other prerequisite building. Vipers are meant to give the zerg an extra edge in clearing out chokepoints, allowing the short-range zerg units to stand a better chance against long-ranged ones.2012-06-11, Dustin Browder gives Slasher the scoop on Heart of the Swarm. YouTube, accessed on 2012-06-21 Upgrades and Abilities Heart of the Swarm In the campaign, the viper is an evolution of the , derived from the genes of primal zerg. Vipers also appear as part of Yagdra's pack in The Crucible. The viper strain of the mutalisk has the same statistics as a regular mutalisk (but aesthetically, it is different by having four blue wings), but can transform itself into a viper at a specific mineral, vespene and time cost. Abduct costs 25 energy, Disabling Cloud replaces Blinding Cloud and prevents shooting from beneath the cloud entirely, Consume targets allied units, and the viper can directly attack air units, dealing bonus damage to armored units. The attacks deal 10 damage, +5 vs armored units, and have a range of 6 and a cooldown of 1.5. Compared to the brood lord, the Viper is rather similar to a corsair, an air-to-air fighter with a temporary ground disabling move, but with a weak automatic attack, and the bonus ability of being able to move ground units to itself. But in terms of raw fighting ability, it's air-to-air ability is not noticeably better than the baseline mutalisk given the latter's multi-bounce attack. Co-op Missions Abathur is able to mutate vipers in Co-op Missions once he reaches Level 8, and can upgrade them at Level 9. These vipers have an anti-air attack that does 10 damage. Amon's vipers and Abathur's vipers use Disabling Cloud instead of Blinding Cloud. Upgrades and Abilities Development The viper's parasitic bomb ability was be altered from its launch iteration. Its damage no longer stacked with other parasitic bomb effects, but its damage was increased to 180. A one-second delay was added before the bomb started dealing damage.2017-08-17, StarCraft II Multiplayer - Major Design Changes. Blizzard Entertainment, accessed on 2017-08-20 Special Viper Strains *Cobra (cut content) *Mecha viper (terran replicant) Trivia The viper is David Kim's favorite new zerg unit in Heart of the Swarm.June, 2012, Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm "New Units" Explained by David Kim. G4, accessed on 2012-06-21 The viper is similar to the beta queen unit from StarCraft development, as both share similar abilities with the defiler. Images ;Skins File:NormalViper SC2SkinImage.jpg|A viper File:LeviathanViper SC2SkinImage.jpg|Leviathan Brood viper File:PrimalViper SC2SkinImage.jpg|Primal zerg viper File:SimulantViper Skin Game1.jpg|Simulant viper File:CerberusViper SC2SkinImage.JPG|Cerberus viper ;Portraits File:Viper SC2-LotV Head3.jpg|Leviathan Brood viper portrait File:Viper SC2-LotV Head4.jpg|Primal zerg viper portrait File:Viper SC2-LotV Head5.jpg|Simulant viper portrait File:CerberusViperPortrait SC2SkinImage.jpg|Cerberus viper portrait References Category:StarCraft II Zerg units Category:Primal zerg breeds Category:Swarm zerg breeds